A/N: Thank you all for the well wishes, luckily my dad and his partner have both made a full recovery. Three weeks into lockdown and I'm coping a little better mostly because it's been a scorcher for a weekend and we've had the barbecue cleaned and a new paddling pool ordered for the garden. However, the lockdown is going to be extended (no surprises there even if it hasn't been officially announced) and each day the schools remain closed is another day I have to challenge myself with homeschooling. Thank god for a two week school holiday!

Happy Easter, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to get another done soon.

Chapter Fourteen

Monday morning. Despite the bright sky and scorching heat at eight-thirty in the morning, Elizabeth had been dreading turning up for work this morning. She knew that she wouldn't be seeing Will until about fiveish so she had about eight hours or so to get through her work day and think about what she was going to say to him. But as she knocked on the front door of the Darcy's house, she got a surprise.

Will opened the door and stood there, looking at her as if this were the first time he was setting his eyes on her. He was dressed in his usual work shirt, tie, trousers. Shirt tucked in. Leather shoes on. Watch ticking away on his right wrist. His curly hair neatly brushed. And the way he studied her, the way his eyes never left hers, the way she saw his fingers twitch as if he wanted to do something, but it took his willpower to stop himself. She felt that pull that she had felt on Saturday night, mere inches between them but this time her head was telling her not to close those few inches and press her lips to his.

The air was thin between them, they each took a step towards the other, with Will stepping out on to his driveway until they could each hear the other breathing. But their moment was lost when Elizabeth saw Mia appear in the doorway behind her father.

"Morning Lizzy." Mia greeted.

"Good morning Mia, how are you?" Elizabeth smiled.

"I'm okay."

Elizabeth watched as Mia squeezed her father's hand before walking off into the living room. She stepped into the doorway, closing the door behind her as she faced her boss. On her way over she had been hoping she would have the entire day to work out what she was going to say to quite Will but now she was unsure of what she was going to do.

"I wasn't expecting to see you until tonight." She said quietly.

"I know it's not the norm, but I have a meeting with Mia's headteacher today. I discovered the reason behind her unusual behaviour." Will explained.

"Oh? What was bothering her?" Elizabeth asked, feeling slightly more at ease that they could distract themselves with talk of Mia.

"A teaching assistant has been harassing her and trying to use her."

"Use her for what?"

"It's Caroline. You met her on Saturday. It turns out she has been trying to paint Mia a picture about what her life could be like if Caroline were to become her new mother."

Elizabeth couldn't stop the surge of jealousy that ran through her. So, Caroline was now trying to have a second chance with Will, but this time was hoping to get Mia to warm up to her and get the girl onside before she and Will gave it another shot?

"Oh…well I'm sorry to hear that Mia isn't taking this so well…What was said exactly?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"She begged me not to send her away and Caroline is telling her that a private school would be the best opportunity for her. That she wants to be her new mum and wants us all to be a family." Will replied quietly.

She noticed his clenched jaw and the fierce look in his brown eyes, it made her nervous. She had never seen him angry before and that confused her even more.

"Well she certainly shouldn't be trying to win your favour by harassing Mia at all. Especially not when she is abusing her position of authority." Elizabeth sighed.

"No…well that's why I need to talk to the headteacher and sort the situation out…I won't have Mia's wellbeing affected." Will stated.

"Of course not. It would be down to you to decide how to proceed regarding any relationship with her that you may have." Elizabeth said quietly.

Will frowned at her. He seemed confused for some reason.

"Elizabeth…there is nothing between Caroline and I." he whispered reassuringly.

"Oh…she may have alluded…to something…it doesn't matter…" she stammered.

She went to move into the living room after Mia but felt Will's hand close over hers, gently pulling her back to face him. She tried to ignore the warmth of his skin on hers, sending a shiver down her spine as he closed the gap between them.

"I'm not interested in Caroline." He whispered.

Her heart was hammering in her chest, a fluttering formed in the pit of her stomach. She still had no idea what she was supposed to say. The way he was looking at her…she had seen it before. Long ago she had seen this look between her parents. She had seen this look shared between Jane and George long before the twins had been born. She had seen this look as recently as Lydia dancing in the bar weeks ago with Denny. She had seen this look as recently as yesterday watching her sister recall her first kiss with Charles. It was a look that told her that Saturday night for Will wasn't something he regretted. She knew that they would be discussing Saturday night and it needed to happen soon.

Their eyes bore into the other's, their lips mere inches from each other. She could feel his hiked pace of breath on her face, their noses bumped together lightly and their lips about to sample the smoothness when a child's voice called to them from the living room.

"Lizzy, can you do my hair please?"

They pulled apart, both their heads turning towards the direction of the living room. Luckily, Mia hadn't walked back out into the hallway to look for them, she had remained in the living room to wait for them. Elizabeth stepped aside, her heart beating so fast in her chest that she was sure it would burst from her ribcage. She took a deep breath as she looked at Will apologetically and stepped into the living room.

She wanted to hit herself in the face for her stupidity. She had almost kissed her boss for the second time in forty-eight hours and had failed to even put a stop to it. As she sat on the sofa, Mia handed her the hairbrush and sat on the floor in front of her. Elizabeth began to gently brush the curly hair, getting out the knots and asking how Mia wanted her hair styled. She concentrated on the French plait that Mia had requested, knowing that Will was watching her the entire time.

"How did you learn to do this plait, Lizzy?" Mia questioned.

"I used to practice on my younger sister after my older sister taught me how to do it." Elizabeth answered.

"Is it hard?"

"At first, I could teach you how to do it if you like?"

Mia took her up on her offer just as Elizabeth had finished tying off the end of the French plait with a hairband. She watched as the little girl thanked her and gathered up her school bag before giving Alice a goodbye hug. As Elizabeth stood up, she tried to ignore her pounding heart as Will followed them out the front door and the three of them walked to Mia's school together.

ooOoo

Entering the headteacher's office, Will felt less stressed having Elizabeth by his side. He had wanted Caroline to be included within this meeting, but Mrs. Phillips had refused. Due to the professional environment they were in, Will wouldn't be able to have it out with Caroline here and now. Instead, all he could do was make a formal complaint and let the school investigate. After retelling what he had been told by his daughter the night before and what he expected to happen, Mrs. Phillips gave her apologies and promised the matter would be dealt with: they would speak with Caroline and suspend her with full pay until further notice as they investigated and took appropriate action. In the meantime, Mrs. Phillips asked that he have no contact with Caroline while the investigation took place so they could ensure that Mia's wellbeing was put first. All through the meeting, the three of them discussed Mia's recent withdrawal, her lack of interest in her activities and life, the pretence that Mia had been ill on Saturday to avoid attending Charles' housewarming barbecue. They talked about Mia's fear that Caroline had instilled in her and how his daughter had pleaded with him not to be sent away.

Once the meeting had concluded, they left the office only to see that Caroline was sat in the waiting area to be spoken to by Mrs. Phillips. Caroline didn't acknowledge him but seemed to glare through narrowed eyes at Elizabeth which only made him even angrier. Elizabeth took hold of his arm, guiding him out of the school building and out of the school grounds.

"That woman!" he growled angrily.

Elizabeth let go of his arm, not saying anything or doing anything other than listening to him rant about Caroline. She was silent as he rambled on about how much he despised his best friend's sister when her attention moved from him to something behind him. Will turned around, seeing Caroline exiting the school grounds looking absolutely furious.

"You!" Will shouted.

Caroline jumped out of her skin.

"Da-Darcy. I can assure you-"

"Spare me your lies! How dare you fill my daughter's head with your delusions?" Will growled.

"She exaggerated." Caroline insisted defensively.

"Mia wouldn't lie about this. Stay away from my daughter or you'll regret it!"

Will felt a tug on his arm and allowed Elizabeth to lead him away from Caroline just as the detestable woman walked off in the opposite direction. Will pulled out his phone, about to flick through his recent contacts to call his best friend when Elizabeth grabbed the phone off him.

"What are you doing?" Will demanded.

"You're angry. Yelling down the phone at Charles about his sister isn't ideal. Besides, what is he going to do about it?" Elizabeth asked rationally.

"Kick his sister to the curb. She is staying in his house."

"Well yeah…there is that. But you need to calm down first. If Charles is a good friend, then he'll know who to believe. Let Caroline go there and spout whatever lies come out of her mouth to her brother, but he will know you are telling the truth when you tell him your side of the story."

He looked her in the eye, those green eyes were one of those things about her that captivated him. As they gazed at each other, he felt himself relaxing as she took hold of his hands and gave them a supportive squeeze. Will knew that she was right. Shouting about Caroline to Charles wouldn't solve anything. For now, the woman had been suspended from her job while they investigated his complaint and he would speak with Charles about the situation and ask that he end her stay with him. But it needed to be done when he was in a calmer mood.

And there was also the matter of clearing up any confusion between him and Elizabeth.

Saturday night had been filled with laughter, enjoyment of company, confiding in friends and too much alcohol to make a good decision. He had given in to the temptation to kiss her, the built up want to kiss her and his growing feelings for her had overcome his common sense – that and the alcohol but mostly the other two things. She had wanted it to, at least he thought that she did. Until the interruption and she had bolted out the house.

And then there was this morning. The awkwardness between them had faded once he had informed her of Mia's trouble with Caroline. Mia was their common ground and where they could talk comfortably with each other. But then she had mentioned that Caroline had alluded to something between them and it was clear to him that it bothered Elizabeth. He quickly felt the need to assure her that he had no interest in Caroline and was mere seconds away from feeling the texture of her lips when Mia had interrupted them – thankfully, not witnessing their moment.

Now she was stood here in front of him, calming him down, holding his hands and looking at him with a confusion he felt as well. Without even thinking about the reasons why it wasn't a good idea, he removed a hand from hers and using the other he pulled her to him, their bodies touching together, and he dipped his head and kissed her hungrily. His free arm wrapped around her back to hold her to him. She moaned happily as her mouth opened and he kissed her more deeply. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck. Will held her tightly as he poured his entire focus into kissing her thoroughly, his tongue teasing hers. She responded to each time he kissed her as passionately as he could and it thrilled him when he felt her fingers running through his curly hair, playing with the tendrils at the nape of his neck.

Will wasn't sure how long it lasted but he eventually pulled away to give her a chance to catch her breath. But he kept her in his arms, moving his lips along her cheek, down her jaw and nipped at her ear before bumping his forehead lightly against her own to catch his own breath. Her breathing was hiked, as it had been earlier that morning and her eyes were closed as if she didn't want to open them in case this kiss had been just a dream.

But it wasn't a dream. It really had happened.

"I don't know where we go from here…" she whispered; eyes still closed.

He gave a low, throaty chuckle as he ran his fingers through her silky waves, cupping her cheek as she fluttered her eyelids open to look at him.

"I'm not sure either." He admitted quietly.

Elizabeth untangled her arms from him and stepped out of his arms, possibly looking even more confused than she had before he had kissed her.

"Will…I'm not even divorced yet, it could take months before I am-"

"Your lawyer's firm have the reputation of dealing with divorces rather quickly. You have accepted your ex-husband's settlement offer. Therefore, I'd say it will all be finalised by September. October at the latest." Will interrupted.

"I wanted to have some time by myself before diving into another relationship." Elizabeth sighed.

"And you can. I'm not putting any pressures on you nor am I expecting you to have all the answers, Elizabeth." Will said reassuringly.

"And what about Mia?" Elizabeth questioned, "I love looking after her, I love working for you in that capacity. What about our working relationship? I can't have a romantic relationship with my boss."

"Mia is perfectly happy for me to have a romantic relationship with you. As for our professional relationship…I won't deny there are some things that need to be worked out. But we have time, Elizabeth." Will answered.

"I'm not going to ask you to wait for me to sort my head out." Elizabeth stated.

"I'm not asking anything. I'm not telling you how this is going to be. I want you to make your own decisions and know that if I am what you want then I am not going anywhere. When you are ready to be with me, we can take this as slowly as you like. Just know that it is you that I want." Will said in a firm whisper.

"This could get messy." Elizabeth warned.

"We're both grown adults with the best intentions. Let's just see how the next few weeks go and spend time together, if we kiss then we kiss. You have time to make any decisions that you want. No labels but I will be only with you." Will promised.

"I can't spend more time putting another man's needs before my own. I just wasted five years of my life doing just that."

"Well I like to think that your ex-husband is a selfish prick for allowing that to happen. Marriage is about an equal partnership. Finding your way through the hard times with your life partner. Any relationship should be that way. As for my needs, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself."

Elizabeth gave out a laugh of ease, smiling at him a little. It may have come across that he was willing to wait for her and in truth, he was. However, he wasn't going to deny himself any longer on what it was that he wanted. Having already gotten his daughter's approval and having reflected during the past few days that he didn't regret what had happened between them, Will knew that he wanted to be with Elizabeth. For him, he knew that she had a lot going on that she needed to sort out. He wanted to give her as much time as she needed to get her head straight and in turn that would give him an option to think about their professional relationship. The two didn't say anything further and neither pushed whatever it was between them as they made the walk back to his house, they both still had their workdays to contend with after all.

Little did they know that Caroline hadn't walked off in the opposite direction. Little did they know that the redheaded viper was watching them from afar, watching Will kiss Elizabeth so passionately that she wished it were her in his arms. Little did they know that Caroline, although unsure of her next movements, was seething so much that she made a silent vow to do her utmost worst on the woman who had inadvertently now become her rival for Fitzwilliam Darcy.

ooOoo

The last time that George Wickham had been surrounded by so many pregnant bellies was when he had been forced to attend the first scan when Jane had been pregnant. He sat in a rather uncomfortable chair in the waiting room of the maternity department at the local hospital. Lindsay sat next to him, looking rather pale and nervous. She had decided that she couldn't go through with an abortion, despite his attempts at trying to convince her to have one, and now here they were waiting for their first official scan after an earlier emergency scan revealed they were further along in the pregnancy than originally thought.

Lindsay would get her official due date today and George wasn't sure what he was going to do. He still hadn't told her about the twins and the fact that his daughter was disabled. He didn't want her to get clingy and constantly seek his reassurance he wouldn't up and leave her the way that he had left Jane and the twins nearly three years ago.

He looked around the waiting room, feeling so bored that he contemplated going outside for a cheeky smoke; something which he had to do on the sly since he had promised Lindsay that he would quit whilst she was pregnant. Lindsay was becoming so annoying. She had already been reading through the small stack of pregnancy books she had been gifted by a colleague and had read up on how harmful smoking was for an unborn baby. Then there were the baby name books. Gah. He'd forgotten how much he detested those books. When Jane had been pregnant her intolerable mother had given her one to make a suggestion on what the twins should be called; the only supportive thing her mother had done during Jane's pregnancy. The rest of the time Fran Bennet made snide remarks about how their children were bastards, how they were wrong to raise children when they weren't marred, etcetera etcetera…

Finally, Lindsay's name was called and the two of the rose from their seats and walked across the waiting room to one of the tiny darkened rooms. Once they were inside with the door clicking to a shut behind them, Lindsay propped herself up on the bed and lay back, unbuttoning her shorts and tucking the piece of tissue paper the sonographer handed her into her underwear. George took a seat, looking at the screen impatiently as the sonographer went through what the procedure entailed, what they were going to be doing. Blah blah blah.

"I see you've consented for the screening. You've had your bloods taken and we'll measure the fluid at the back of the baby's neck. In a few weeks time you'll receive a letter with your results." The sonographer reiterated.

"What exactly are you looking for in this screening?" George asked, confused.

"It's not a hundred percent accurate but the screening determines if you are low risk or high risk of having a baby with Down's syndrome, Patau's syndrome and Edwards' syndrome." The sonographer replied.

"And what happens if we're high risk?" Lindsay asked.

"You'll have a consultant appointment who will then discuss further options. You could decide to have an amniocentesis which will determine more accurately whether the baby has these syndromes."

George felt his heart pound in his chest. Surely the baby would be fine? This was a routine test after all, and it wasn't always accurate. Plenty of people had to have been high risk and their baby hadn't come out with either of the three conditions mentioned. As he watched the scan go ahead, he couldn't focus on the little blob or the little heartbeat on the screen, all he could think about was the little girl he had abandoned shortly after her second birthday because it had been confirmed she had a rare chromosome deletion which caused her developmental delays. Jane hadn't known anything was wrong during her pregnancy and it had been hard for him to have a child with a disability, so he had left.

"George, isn't it amazing?" Lindsay said happily.

He blinked, his eyes moving from the screen to his 'girlfriend' and smiled weakly.

"Yeah…amazing…" he said absentmindedly.

His eyes moved back to the little blob on the screen, watching as the sonographer took measurements to get their exact due date.

Yeah…he thought…nothing is wrong. This baby will be perfect.